Memnun Oldum

Memnun Oldum (EN: Nice to meet you) is an interactive installation that shows the influence of an individual on a group. In the Middle Eastern society people are more open to intermingle and therefore the social groups are highly dynamic. Memnun Oldum makes these dynamics visual by creating colored drops per visitor. The drops fall and land in a dish below, one by one. Slowly they form a larger group but each individual leaves a trace behind.

The interactive installation has been presented at METU Ankara, the Dutch Technology Week and the Dutch Design Week in 2012. The installation evoked many interesting discussions on cultural differences during these exhibits. And, albeit for a brief moment, it let people evaluate their own perspective towards those cultural differences.

Memnun Oldum is the result of a two-week Erasmus Intensive Project. The project is a collaboration between METU Ankara, Sint-Lukas Brussels and TU/e Eindhoven. Three multicultural and multidisciplinary teams started from scratch with the objective to design and build an installation around their chosen cultural topic. After only ten days three installations emerged and were presented at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

The installation expresses how individuals influence group dynamics. Each visitor is represented by a drop that falls upon their entrance. At first this drop floats freely and individually, but in the end the drop always fuses with the larger group. The color of the drop influences the color pattern of the group and creates beautiful images.

After the exhibition in Ankara the installation has been redesigned in the Netherlands for the Dutch Technology Week and the Dutch Design Week in 2012. The concept did not change, only the embodiment of the design. The (lengthy) video below shows the design process and the end results of the three groups in Ankara.